Rock and roll
emerged as a defined musical style in the in the early to mid-1950s.}} Rock and roll music emerged from the wide variety of musical genres that existed in the United States in the first half of the 20th century among different ethnic and social groups. Each genre developed over time through changing fashion and innovation, and each one exchanged ideas and stylistic elements with all the others. }}, with an ancient heritage of oral storytelling through music of African origin, usually with strong rhythmic elements, with frequent use of " " and often using a " " vocal pattern. :In and , a blue note is a that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different than standard. Typically the alteration is between a and a , but this varies depending on the musical context. was modified through the experience of slavery, and through contact with white musical styles such as the folk , and instruments, such as the Spanish guitar. New styles of music emerged among black Americans in the early 20th century in the form of , , , and . According to the writer : " Bedrock black church music influenced blues, rural blues influenced white folk song and the black popular music of the Northern ghettos, blues and black pop influenced jazz, and so on. Gospel music Gospel music usually has dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) with Christian lyrics. . s and sacred songs were often repeated in a fashion. Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done . Several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general. Christ-Janer said "the music was tuneful and easy to grasp ... rudimentary harmonies ... use of the chorus ... varied metric schemes ... motor rhythms were characteristic ... The device of letting the lower parts echo rhythmically a motive announced by the sopranos became a mannerism". quoting as saying, "Before I sing I must feel", and they call attention to the comparison of the original version of Rowley's "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story" with Sankey's version. Gold said, "Essentially the gospel songs are songs of testimony, persuasion, religious exhortation, or warning. Usually the chorus or refrain technique is found." According to Yale University music professor Willie Ruff, the singing of psalms in by of the evolved from " " – where one person sang a solo and others followed – into the of gospel music of the American South. Coming out of the religious experience, American gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with foundations in the works of Dr. and others. Gospel music has roots in the black oral tradition, and typically utilizes a great deal of repetition, which allows those who could not read the opportunity to participate in worship. During this time, s and songs were lined and repeated in a call-and-response fashion, and and s emerged. Repetition and "call and response" are accepted elements in African music, designed to achieve an altered state of consciousness sometimes referred to as "trance", and to strengthen communal bonds. Most of the churches relied on hand-clapping and foot-stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Guitars and tambourines were sometimes available, but not frequently. Church choirs became a norm only after emancipation. Most of the singing was done (without music). and songs, but the gospel hymn was of a different character, and it served the needs of mass revivals in the great cities.}} in the concert hall, The Netherlands}} The holiness-Pentecostal movement, or sanctified movement, appealed to people who were not attuned to the Europeanized version of black church music. Holiness worship has used any type of instrumentation that congregation members might bring in, from s to s. churches readily adopted and contributed to the gospel music publications of the early 20th century.}} was the first great recording star of gospel music. Late 20th-century musicians such as , , , , and the either were raised in a Pentecostal environment, or have acknowledged the influence of that tradition. With the help of many healing evangelists such as Oral Roberts, Pentecostalism spread across America by the 1950s Blues . No specific year can be cited as the origin of the blues, largely because the style evolved over a long period and existed in approaching its modern form before the term blues was introduced and before the style was thoroughly documented. Gerhard Kubik traces the roots of many of the elements that were to develop into the blues back to the continent, the "cradle of the blues".}} One important early mention of something closely resembling the blues comes from 1901, when an in described the songs of workers which had lyrical themes and technical elements in common with the blues. and which was originated in the of the United States around the 1870s by African-Americans from roots in }}, , and . Blues incorporated , s, s, , s, and rhymed simple narrative . The blues form, ubiquitous in , and , is characterized by the pattern, the and specific s, of which the is the most common. s (or "worried notes"), usually thirds, fifths or sevenths flattened in are also an essential part of the sound. Blues or reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect known as the . Blues as a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation. Early s consisted of a single line repeated four times. It was only in the first decades of the 20th century that the most common current structure became standard: the , consisting of a line sung over the four first bars, its repetition over the next four, and then a longer concluding line over the last bars. Early blues frequently took the form of a loose narrative, often relating the racial discrimination and other challenges experienced by African-Americans. Many elements, such as the call-and-response format and the use of blue notes, can be traced back to the . The origins of the blues are also closely related to the religious music of the Afro-American community, the . }} and, later, the development of s. It is associated with the newly acquired freedom of the former slaves. Chroniclers began to report about blues music at the dawn of the 20th century. The first publication of blues sheet music was in 1908. Blues has since evolved from unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves into a wide variety of styles and subgenres. Blues include , such as and , as well as urban blues styles such as and . marked the transition from acoustic to and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially white listeners. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called developed, which blended blues styles with . Ragtime or "ragged" rhythm.}} The style has its origins in communities in cities such as . Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century and descended from the jigs and march music played by African American bands, referred to as "jig piano" or "piano thumping". By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa. Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and "jig" and "rag" were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s. Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the . In 1895, black entertainer composed two of the earliest sheet music rags, one of which (" ") eventually sold a million copies. The other composition was called " ", and it was also a hit. As black musician Tom Fletcher said, Hogan was the "first to put on paper the kind of rhythm that was being played by non-reading musicians." While the song's success helped introduce the country to ragtime rhythms, its use of racial slurs created a number of derogatory imitation tunes, known as " " because of their use of and images of blacks. In Hogan's later years, he admitted shame and a sense of "race betrayal" from the song, while also expressing pride in helping bring ragtime to a larger audience. Boogie-woogie communities in the 1870s.}} It was eventually extended from piano, to piano duo and trio, guitar, , , and . traditionally expresses a variety of emotions, boogie-woogie is mainly associated with }}. The lyrics of one of the earliest hits, " ", consist entirely of instructions to dancers: Jazz that originated in the communities of , United States. It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in and }}. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music". Since the 1920s , jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent and al styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by and s, , s and . Jazz has roots in , and in including and , as well as European military band music. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms". As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French s, , ragtime and with collective . In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented s, , a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style and (a style that emphasized waltzes) were the prominent styles. emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. developed near the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, linear melodic lines. , which explored playing without regular meter, beat and formal structures}}, and in the mid-1950s, emerged, which introduced influences from , , and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. developed in the late 1950s, using the , or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation. appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with 's rhythms, electric instruments, and highly amplified stage sound. In the early 1980s, a commercial form of jazz fusion called became successful, garnering significant radio airplay. Other styles and genres abound in the 2000s, such as and . Swing music developed in the United States that dominated in the 1930s and 1940s.}} The name swing came from the 'swing feel' where the emphasis is on the off–beat or weaker pulse in the music. The danceable swing style of and such as was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, a period known as the . The verb "to " is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong or drive. Notable musicians of the swing era include , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Swing has roots in the 1920s as larger dance music began using new styles of written arrangements incorporating rhythmic innovations pioneered by Louis Armstrong and . A typical song played in swing style would feature a strong, anchoring rhythm section in support of more loosely tied wind and brass. The most common style consisted of theme choruses and choruses with improvised solos within the framework of his bandmates playing support. Swing music began to decline in popularity during World War II because of several factors. Swing influenced the later styles of , , and . Swing music saw a revival in the late 1950s and 1960s with the resurgent and orchestras, and with pop vocalists such as and . Swing blended with other genres to create new music styles. In , artists such as , and introduced many elements of swing along with to create a genre called . is an outgrowth of and swing. Swing revivals have occurred periodically from the late 1960s to the 2000s. In the late-1980s (into the early 1990s) a trendier, more -styled swing-beat emerged called , spearheaded by . In the late 1990s and into the 2000s there was a , led by , , , and . In Canada, some of the early 2000s records by included swing revival elements. Rock and roll , such as , and , were developing , essentially jazz played for dancing, and in some areas such as New York City processes of social integration were taking place. According to Palmer, by the mid-1930s, elements of rock and roll could be found in every type of American folk and blues music}}. Some jazz bands, such as 's, increasingly played rhythmic music that was heavily based on blues riffs. In Chicago, blues performers formed into small groups, such as , and explored the use of amplification. . In Nashville and elsewhere, country music played by white musicians such as incorporated blues styles, and in some cases was recorded with (uncredited) black musicians. In Texas and Oklahoma, bands, such as , combined elements of big band, blues and country music into a new style of dance music. As musicians from different areas and cultures heard each other's music, so styles merged and innovations spread. Increasingly, processes of active cross-fertilisation took place between the music played and heard by white people and the music predominantly played and heard by black people. These processes of exchange and mixing were fueled by the spread of radio, and later and , and the expansion of the commercial popular music business. The music also benefited from the development of new and techniques from the 1930s onward, including the invention of the , first recorded as a virtuoso instrument by . in 1946}} In 1938, promoter and record producer staged the first " " concert in New York City to highlight black musical styles. It featured pianist and singer , whose recording of " " helped spark a craze across American society for "boogie woogie" music, mostly played by black musicians. In both musical and social terms, this helped pave the way for rock and roll music. Economic changes also made the earlier unwieldy; left 's orchestra the same year to form the Tympany Five. Mixing of genres continued through the shared experiences of the World War II, and afterward a new style of music emerged, featuring "honking" saxophone solos, increasing use of the electric guitar, and strongly accented boogie rhythms. This " " encompassed both novelty records, such as those by Jordan, and more heavily rhythmic recordings such as those by . Increasingly, the term "rocking" was used in the records themselves, and by the late 1940s frequently was used to describe the music of performers such as whose records reached the top of the newly christened "rhythm and blues" charts. recorded " ", a song that parodied church music by appropriating its references, including the word "rocking" and the gospel call "Have you heard the news?", relating them to very worldly lyrics about dancing, drinking and sex}}. The song became much more successful the following year when recorded by Wynonie Harris, whose version changed the steady blues rhythm to an uptempo gospel beat, and it was re-recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954 as his second single. A craze began in the rhythm and blues market for songs about "rocking", including "We're Gonna Rock" by , the first commercially successful "honking" sax record, with the words "We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll" as a background chant. One of the most popular was " ", first recorded by in May 1949, and a R&B top 10 hit that year. Preston's version is often considered a prototype of a rock-and-roll song, and it was covered in 1952 by . , Haley's bass player, claimed that this was one of the songs that inspired to coin the phrase "rock and roll" to refer to the music he played. Freed first started playing the music in 1951, and by 1953 the phrase "rock and roll" was becoming used much more widely to market the music beyond its initial black audience. . As well as "rocking" rhythm and blues songs, such as the massively successful and influential " " recorded by and his band but credited to singer , the term was used to encompass other forms of black music. In particular, vocal harmony group recordings in the style that later became known as "doo-wop", such as " " by and " " by , became huge commercial successes, often for the new small independent record companies becoming established. These included , , , , and . The adoption of rock and roll by white people was hindered by racist attitudes. As said about his father and uncle : They'd buy their clothes on , at Lansky Brothers, where all the black people shopped. Right outside Memphis, there was a voodoo village, all black-real mystic kind of people... A lot of real old line southern people called my dad and my uncle white ni**er. Nobody was doing rock-and-roll in those days except people they called white trash. When my dad and my uncle started doin' it, they were just about the first. Although some of the rhythm and blues musicians who had been successful in earlier years – such as Joe Turner, , and who had his first R&B hit in 1950 – made the transition into new markets, much of the initial breakthrough into the wider pop music market came from white musicians, such as Haley, Presley, and , re-recording earlier rhythm and blues hits, often making use of technological improvements in recording and innovations such as , developed by the large mainstream record companies, as well as the invention of the 45-rpm record and the rapid growth of its use in . At the same time, younger black musicians such as , and took advantage of the gradual breakdown of ethnic barriers in America to become equally popular and help launch the rock and roll era. By the time of Haley's first hits in 1953, and those of Berry, Little Richard and then Presley the next year, rock and roll was firmly established. Disco of and a that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene}}. The disco sound is typified by beats, basslines, and s, horns, , s, and electric s. features less frequently in disco than in . Well-known disco artists include , , the , , , , , , and . While performers and singers garnered public attention, s working behind the scenes played an important role in developing the genre. Films such as (1977) and (1978) contributed to disco's mainstream popularity. , , , (especially African-American, Latino-American, and Italian-American gay men), and in and during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco can be seen as a reaction by the during this period to both the dominance of and the stigmatization of dance music at the time}}. Several dance styles were developed during the period of disco's popularity in the United States, including “the ” and “the ”. By the late ‘70s, most major U.S. cities had thriving disco club scenes, and s would dance records at clubs such as in New York City, a venue popular among . Discothèque-goers often wore expensive, extravagant and sexy fashions. There was also a thriving in the disco scene, particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as and , the latter being so common in disco subculture that they were nicknamed "disco biscuits". Disco clubs were also associated with as a reflection of the sexual revolution of this era in popular history. Disco was the last popular music movement driven by the . . , an anti-disco protest held in on July 12, 1979, remains the most well-known of several "backlash" incidents across the country that symbolized disco's declining fortune. and }}. It has had several revivals, such as 's highly successful 2005 album , and more recently in the 2010s, entering the pop charts in the US and the UK. References Category:Contemporary history